Sandimirov S. Heavy metal contents in whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) along a pollution gradient in a subarctic watercourse. Environ. Monit. Assess. 2011, V. 182, №1-4, p. 301-316.

Environ Monit Assess (2011) 182:301-316 DOI 10.1007/s10661-011-1877-1 Heavy metal contents in whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) along a pollution gradient in a subarctic watercourse Per-Arne Amundsen •Nikolay A. Kashulin • Petr Terentjev • Karl 0ystein Gjelland • Irina M. Koroleva •Vladimir A. Dauvalter • Sergey Sandimirov •Alexander Kashulin • Rune Knudsen Received: 2 September 2010 / Accepted: 18 January 2011 / Published online: 3 February 2011 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 Abstract Metallurgic industry is a source of seri­ ous environmental pollution related to the emis­ sion of heavy metals. Freshwater systems are focal points for pollution, acting as sinks for contami­ nants that may end up in fish and humans. The Pasvik watercourse in the border area between Finland, Norway and Russia is located in the vicinity of the Pechenganickel metallurgic enter­ prises, and the lower part of the watershed drains the Nikel smelters directly through Lake Kuets- jarvi. Heavy metal (Ni, Cu, Cd, Zn, Pb and Hg) concentrations in environment (water and sedi­ ments) and whitefish Coregonus lavaretus tissue (gills, liver, kidney and muscle) were contrasted between five lake localities situated along a spa- Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10661-011-1877-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. P.-A. Amundsen (B ) • K. 0 . Gjelland • R. Knudsen Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, University of Troms0, 9037 Troms0, Norway e-mail: per-arne.amundsen@uit.no N. A. Kashulin • P. Terentjev •I. M. Koroleva • V. A. Dauvalter • S. Sandimirov •A. Kashulin Institute of North Industrial Ecology Problems, Kola Science Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, Fersman Street, 14a, Apatity, Murmansk Region, Russia, 184209 tial gradient of increasing distance (5-100 km) to the smelters. The heavy metal concentrations, in particular Ni, Cu and Cd, were highly elevated in Kuetsjarvi, but steeply declined with increas­ ing distance to the smelters and were moderate or low in the other four localities. The study demonstrates that the majority of metal emis­ sions and runoffs are deposited near the pollu­ tion source, and only moderate amounts of the heavy metal contaminants seem to be transported at further distances. Bioaccumulation of Hg oc­ curred in all investigated tissues, and higher Hg concentrations in planktivorous versus benthivo- rous whitefish furthermore indicated that pelagic foraging is associated with higher levels of Hg bio­ magnification. Potential population ecology im­ pacts of high heavy metal contaminations where mainly observed in whitefish in Kuetsjarvi, which showed depletions in growth rate, condition factor and size and age at maturation. Keywords Metallurgic industry •Waterborne pollution •Target organs • Coregonid fishes • Life-history traits Introduction Freshwater systems are focal points for pollution, draining the surrounding landscape and acting as sinks for environmental contaminants that may Springer